Easy Baked Ziti combines rich tomato and meat sauce with pasta and cheese in classic Americanized Italian comfort food style!
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 25 minutesminutes
Total Time 45 minutesminutes
Servings 8servings
Ingredients
1poundziti(or other tube-shaped pasta such as penne)
1tablespoonolive oil
1small onionchopped (about 1/2 cup)
4ouncesdiced raw bacon(about 1/2 cup or 4 slices)
1 ½poundsground beef
24ouncesmarinara sauce
1teaspoongarlic powder
1teaspooncelery seed
1teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground black pepper
14.5ouncesdiced tomatoeswith their juice
12ouncesshredded fresh mozzarella cheese(about 3 cups), divided use
½cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place a large pot of well-salted water on to boil. Cook the ziti according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
While the ziti cooks, make the meat sauce. In a large skillet, add the olive oil, onion, and bacon. Cook, stirring frequently, until the bacon is cooked and the onion is translucent.
Add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook until no pink color remains in the ground beef.
Add the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, celery seed, salt, and ground black pepper stirring well. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes.
Remove the meat sauce from the heat and add the drained pasta and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Stir together until evenly combined.
Pour the mixture into an ovenproof baking dish or pan. Top with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and the grated Parmesan.
Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove the dish from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
You can substitute all sausage, half sausage, or all ground turkey.
Store any leftovers in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
May be frozen either before or after baking. Wrap with plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. To bake, thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350F for about 35-40 minutes.